Srinagar, Apr 17: In absence of comprehensive dog sterilisation programme, growing dog menace has gripped the summer capital.
Residents of most of the localities in Srinagar said that the presence of hundreds of stray dogs in every nook and corner has made it difficult for them to venture out.
The locals complain that even after apprising the authorities about the issue, no major step has been taken to check the menace.
“Dozens of dogs roam around in our locality. SMC has been saying that they will launch a major dog sterilisation programme but so far they did nothing. Unless there is a proper mechanism to check the menace, people will continue to suffer. There are dogs roaming in the city centre and important places like health centres and markets, We are unable to let our children out given rising incidents of stray dog bites,” said Irfan Ahmed of Nowhatta locality in Downtown.
An official from the SMC said that the department is going to set up new sterilisation centers for the canine population. He said that currently, the infrastructure that is available for sterilisation is at minimum capacity.
“The SMC’s lone center at Shuhama is able to carry out sterilisation of around 15 dogs per day which is negligible as compared to the population of dogs in Srinagar. We are going to increase dog sterilisation capacity by setting up new dog sterilisation centers at Shuhama and Tengpora. We have finalised majority of the work and hope the process will start soon,” said the official.
The officials at SMC said that after completion of the new project, they will have three more dog sterilisation facilities for Srinagar and the department will be able to carry out around 240 sterilization surgeries per day.
The officials also said that there is a need for better management of garbage. They said that SMC will make sure that there will be a 100 percent collection of poultry waste and the open garbage issue will also be addressed.
A senior official from SMC said that they are starting the dog sterilisation process soon at Tengpora and also increasing the capacity of sterilization in Shuhama. The official informed that they are going to outsource the sterilisation process
“We had multiple meetings on the issue. The previous outsourcing process did not materialise and now we have decided to outsource the process with some relaxations so that agencies will carry out the process without delay. We have also identified the land in Srinagar to create one more dog sterilisation centre in the heart of the city,” said the official.